When Yellow Met Xander
by Keldin
Summary: Xander's bed is empty when he wakes, but a letter is left behind...
1. The Original Story

**Author's Notes** (also see below): Originally written and posted to Twisting the Hellmouth on September 14th, this little bit entered my head after being awoken by a ringing phone at 3:30am, and wouldn't let me get back to sleep until I wrote it. I'm sure it's not particularly good, since this is... well, it's not my *first* fanfic, but it is the first I've ever posted. C&C is *always* welcome!

September 13, 2005

Mount Batu, Oromia, Ethiopia

When he awoke in the early hours, just before the dawn, the other side of the bed was cold. It was, and yet was not, really much of a surprise. It just seemed to be his luck.

What didn't match was the letter he found on the stand beside the bed they'd shared. Most of the times something like this had happened, there had been more mystery surrounding the disappearance. Which was, again, usually just his luck.

The letter read:

_I cannot stay long to write this. Even as I do, my compatriots, my friends are waiting. Our world is under attack and they need me. The disk I've left here will explain more; it can be played in any standard personal holo-message projector._

_Thank you for your concern. Yours was the first voice of comfort, the first voice that understood me since I crash-landed in this backwater place three months ago._

_Thank you for talking to me like a person, sharing your fears and hurts, and letting me share my own with you._

_And... thank you for understanding about me accidentally almost crushing you with my bare hands when I hugged you... though I'm still not sure what you were talking about when it came to strange dreams and all that._

_But, most of all, thank you for helping me feel human again. It's something I'll always treasure, something I'll always remember from my 'one-eyed comfortador.'_

_Hopefully, we'll see each other again, in time. Hopefully, it won't be too long._

_Love,__  
__Katie_

He picked up the small metal button that laid under the folded sheet of paper and squinted at it. "Personal holo-message projector?" he muttered to himself. "Maybe Willow will have some idea"

* * *

June 21, 3001

Infirmary

"PUSH!" the masked doctor said. Katie was relaxed - it was the effect of the drugs. When it was learned, after her accidental diversion into the past, that she was pregnant, there'd been some debate among the other members of her unit. In the end, due to fears induced by her enhanced strength, enough of a dose was granted to make it easier on both mother and doctor in question.

The wail of the newly-arrived infant was strong and healthy, and the doctor said as much to the new mother, congratulating her on her new daughter.

"Have you decided on a name?" the tall woman by her side asked, her hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Yes," she replied, a little dreamily from the effort expended. "Melaka, after my great-grandmother. It's a family name. So, Melaka Walker." She smiled nostalgically, her eyes already beginning to clear. "And her middle name... her middle name is 'Fray'. So that I'll always remember her father, and how he treated me like a person in a place where I didn't know if I'd ever see home again."

She sighed and leaned back against the pillows, accepting her daughter into her arms. "I miss you, Xander," she murmured to herself, just as sleep claimed her.

* * *

Power Rangers: Time Force is owned, I believe, by Fox. Mirai Sentai Timeranger, on which it was based, is owned by Toei. And we all (should) know who owns Xander and the rest of BtVS.

It's been a long time since I've seen PRTF - not surprising since it aired in 2001 - so the details are kind of foggy (especially at this time of morning), but, like I said above, the idea wouldn't let me go until I wrote it.

I haven't read Fray, and I'm aware that this doesn't match the history of THAT Melaka Fray, but maybe that one is Katie's grandmother (or further up the family line.

Anyway, C&C is always welcome, but please be gentle. It really IS my first time! (And most certainly my first time posting to .) If anyone wants to pick up on this thread and continue the story, feel free, but please let me know.


	2. Katie's Side

Author's Notes: This fic was originally listed as complete, but I decided to add more to it. It'll still be fairly short, with few updates, but there ya go.

This fic goes AU immediately after the teaser of episode 39 (The End of Time, part II) of Power Rangers: Time Force. Sort of. It actually goes AU, does its thing, then rejoins the PRTF continuity. Such are things when you're dealing with time travel.

Also, don't expect real frequent updates to this 'fic. It's been over two months since I wrote the first part, after all! All C&C welcome!

Outside Silver Hills

November 10, 2001

In a way, Wes had betrayed them.

With time portals opening frequently and uncontrollably, and the knowledge that the world was in terrible danger, he'd tricked them by sealing them inside their own timeship with the launch sequence activated on a timer. It'd taken planning to do it, and a sneakiness that Katie had never suspected their friend from the present had.

So, yes, in a way, Wes had betrayed them. But it was only because he **was** that friend, and he didn't want them to die in a time that wasn't their own that he'd done it.

Well, screw that! Katie knew that she wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, but her loyalty was unquestionable. She wanted to stay! Not survive be damned! If she was going out, she'd do it fighting for the people she cared for and for the rest of the Earth!

"Please, no!" Katie heard Jen cry, as she pounded on the autopilot to try and override it, the pre-launch timer dropping to seven seconds remaining. The team leader and Pink Time Force Power Ranger ran back to the observation window and screamed, "I want to tell you something!"

Over the communicator, Wes' voice could be heard, his tone sad, "Don't worry. Everything you've always wanted is waiting for you in the future."

Once again, screw that! Didn't he know how they felt about him? Couldn't he understand?

The timer reached zero and ignition kicked in, lifting the timeship from the ground and towards the time portal opening above them. As the ship crossed the threshold, it lurched and Katie was thrown across the ship, her head smacking hard against the hull. Everything went black.

* * * *

July 4, 2005

Mount Batu, Oromia, Ethiopia

Katie let out a groan as consciousness returned, albeit slowly. When she opened her eyes, for a moment she'd gone completely blind, because it was still dark. It was only a moment, though, before she spotted a sputtering yellow light that indicated the status of the life support inside the emergency escape pod - for that is surely what this was. She didn't remember boarding, which probably meant someone else had put her in here. Which, hopefully, meant that the rest of the crew had made it too.

She sat up, and her vision swum. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on breathing and reestablishing her equilibrium for several moments before sliding into the pilot's chair.

This wasn't good.

Life support was barely managing to maintain itself. Communications down. The temporal control system was blinking with the target date - the year 3,000 - which meant that they **had** entered the timestream, but with the sensors down, there was no way to be certain exactly when (or, for that matter, where) she was.

The status light on the life support shifted from yellow to red, indicating imminent failure. If Katie wanted to survive, she'd have to get out, and get out now. Grabbing the emergency beacon, she hustled to the hatch. It unsealed with a hiss, but didn't open completely, apparently blocked by something.

It was a good thing she was the strong one. All she needed was her little amount of leverage and that strength to clear the way. Now, all she had to do is figure out where the hell she was.

* * * *

August 31, 2005

Mount Batu, Oromia, Ethiopia

It was a tiny backwards village that she'd found, and that told some of what she needed to know. It was clear she wasn't back in the 30th Century, because by then, all of these villages had most of the modern amenities. They all also spoke some amount of English, and there was none of that here.

It'd been a bit depressing, to tell the truth. Katie guessed that she was some time in the 25th or 26th Century, but all she could do was wait. Constrained to not move more than 25km from the escape pod (as she was using it to bolster the strength of her emergency beacon), she'd started acting like she couldn't speak at all around the natives. Her great strength assured her of a place in the society, giving her work to keep a place to sleep, food to drink, and something to keep her mind busy.

But she hoped that the rest of her team would find her soon. She was going stir-crazy, and letting the words just wash over her wasn't helping as much anymore. It wasn't enough to know that there were other people there. She needed someone she could actually talk to, someone who could listen and understand her.

Though she hadn't done it since she'd been a child, she actually found herself praying for someone. Anyone. It made her feel a little better, even.

Enough, at least, to let her get back to work.


End file.
